Inspired by Britney Dortona’s experience of constantly handing back library books way past their due date comes OVERDUE; the super-serious and totally true story of what happens when you forget to return your library book on time. In this short film, university student Alex (KAIDEN FRANCIS) is taken and interrogated by librarians Virginia (TBD) and her apprentice, Freeda (BRIANNA DORTONA), in a last-ditch attempt to recover his overdue library book.

The short is estimated to run between nine and ten minutes, which we plan to shoot over the course of two days in June (rehearsal and pre-production meetings not included). Come meet the awesome humans who are going to help bring this project to life!

THE CAST & CREW:

KAIDEN IVOR FRANCIS

Kaiden Ivor Francis is a Toronto-based actor who trained in the Acting For Media program at George Brown Polytechnic, where he built a strong foundation and a naturally grounded on-camera presence. He is proficient in British RP, Caribbean, and General American accents and has experience in on-screen combat. Naturally athletic, Kaiden brings authentic physicality to both dramatic and comedic roles.

BRIANNA DORTONA

Brianna Dortona is an actor based outside of Toronto and a graduate of George Brown's Acting for Media program. She grew up in the arts and found her passion for storytelling through dance. Throughout her teen years, she was dedicated to theatre and directed her first play. As an actor and creator, Brianna wants to tell stories to connect with others, to help them through the highs and lows of life just like film, theatre, and dance did for her growing up.

BRITNEY DORTONA (aka THE DIRECTOR)

Britney Dortona is a writer who thinks she’s funny sometimes (hopefully this is one of those times). OVERDUE will be her first foray into directing for the screen, following her stageplay In(di)visble performed in McMaster’s Black Box theatre in 2022. She is a recent graduate of TMU’s MFA Scriptwriting & Story Design program where she met Producer Findlay Ironside who she bugs constantly with ideas and drafts.

AMANDA WERGER & FINDLAY IRONSIDE (aka the PRODUCERS)

Amanda and Findlay co-own the production company Jane of All Trades Production Inc. based in Toronto. Together their work has screened at festivals across Canada including the Canadian Screen Award Qualifying festivals Fantasia Film Festival and Blood in the Snow. They’ve also won the best short screenplay award at the Oscar-BAFTA qualifying Raindance Film Festival in the UK, and best horror short at the Toronto Short Film Festival. Amanda’s background as a lawyer and theatre kid makes her an incredible asset on a film set – she is a budget and paperwork wiz, and always makes sure everyone on set is safe and well fed. Findlay brings 10 years of experience in the industry, and has worked a variety of crew jobs from boom op to make-up artist and everything in between. Her understanding of each job on set allows her to recognize the needs of production in an efficient and empathetic manner.

ANTONINA MORRIS (aka the PRODUCTION COORDINATOR)

Antonina is an emerging filmmaker who promotes women-led storytelling of all genres. Antonina met Britney and Findlay through TMU’s MFA in Scriptwriting and Story Design, and is hoping (fingers crossed) to graduate this fall. She loves collaborating with other creatives and working on film sets in a variety of positions. Specifically, a majority of her experience on set has been in assisting directing roles. She’s excited to branch into the role of production coordinator, and looks forward to using her organizational and production skills in this capacity.

JAMES P. HOBAN (aka SOUND MAN)

James is truly a jack of all trades on set. He is an actor, location sound recordist, editor, and producer-director. He has worked in a wide range of departments including Camera, Art, Sound, Editing, Production Design, Location, Property, Acting, and COVID Compliance, and has a deep understanding of the needs of each department on set. His sound work has involved location sound on sketches, shorts, and independent features, as well as in studio foley work making silly and gorey noises.

AIDAN LESSER (aka the EDITOR)

Aidan is a filmmaker and editor, with nearly a decade’s worth of experience in various roles within the industry. Aidan is a working producer and editor, and has done both roles in tandem on short films such as Taco Boy (2025), which premiered at NFFTY and has since won best screenwriting at TIFF Next Wave 2025; First Rites (2025) with Amanda Werger and Findlay Ironside, which recently premiered at Fantasia Film Festival and won best horror short at the Toronto Short Film Festival; and Mica (2025), which premiered at The Great Canadian Horror Film Festival. He is also an award winning writer-director who has had work play at festivals such as Slamdance and NFFTY.

THE BUDGET:

Our current production budget is sitting just under $7,000 at $6720. You can see exactly how the costs breakdown in the pie chart below! This money will go to pay for our locations and set design, our camera gear, electrical equipment (set operations), insurance, hair and make-up, and cast salaries, as well as food and coffee for our cast and crew, legal fees, and festival submissions. Anything we raise over our target will allow us to pay our wonderful crew, who are currently, generously donating their time.